viiOn the late afternoon of 23 March 2018, an Air India flight from New
Delhi arrived in the Ben-Gurion International Airport just outside Tel
Aviv and made history. The direct flight between India and Israel had an
interesting twist as it flew over the Saudi airspace. Since the early 1960s as
part of their boycott policy, Arab states have denied flights from or to
Israel accessing their airspace. As a result, flights touching Israel often take
more circuitous routes incurring cost and time overruns. The Saudi will-
ingness to bestow a rare privilege upon India’s national carrier underscores
the transformation that is taking place in India’s fortunes in the wider
Middle East, especially vis-à-vis Saudi Arabia. What are the main drivers of
the Indo-Saudi relations?
Initially, the idea was to capture various aspects of the bilateral relations
within the broad historical context and India’s engagement with the most
critical Gulf Arab country. As things progressed, it was evident that the
pace and depth of the relations were shaped and influenced by New Delhi.
The ups and downs as well as the transformation have largely been due to
certain shifts in India’s priorities and approaches towards the Kingdom.
Despite many inherent advantages, for long, there was an absence of
warmth between the two, and gradual transformation has primarily hap-
pened when New Delhi began viewing the Kingdom and its strengths and
limitations without the Pakistani prism. Hence, it is more about India’s
policy than relations with Saudi Arabia.
Such an endeavour not only is a time-consuming exercise but also
requires the support, understanding and encouragement of family, friends
and colleagues. Besides, many individuals have inspired both the authors
Acknowledgements